'Mr. X' - Movie review

In his endeavour to create an invisible man, Vikram Bhatt appears to have overlooked the storyline. Wish he had paid attention to other details as well

'Mr. X'
U/A; Sci-fi thriller
Director: Vikram Bhatt
Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Amyra Dastur, Arunoday Singh, Nora Fatehi
Rating: 

They keep saying, "Everything is fair in love and war". So hours before their marriage, anti-terror agent Mr Invisible to-be (Emraan Hashmi) and his colleague, Ms Fresh Face (Amyra Dastur) can get away with anything. In the opening sequence itself, Ms Fresh Face diffuses a bomb — she has nanoseconds to snap the correct wire. She is — you guessed it right — successful and saves lives. It’s been a hard day at work. She now needs to shower, while Mr Invisible to-be has to smooch and sing before Mr Baddie (Arunoday Singh) hatches a conspiracy. By now you must have got the drift, and again guessed it right — trouble is in store for the lovebirds.

Emraan Hashmi in 'Mr. X' poster

Like most of the recent flicks from the Bhatt stable, which have been shot in South Africa, 'Mr X' also gets going there. The problem is that the actors keep oscillating between the streets of Cape Town and Mumbai. They step in and out of the two cities as if they were in their backyards. Amidst these continuity eyesores, Mr Invisible to-be has been victimised and left to die only to find himself as the now invisible guy, Mr X. Even when he can’t be seen, his ladylove is able to smell her man. This, incidentally, raised the loudest chuckles in the theatre.

Bhatt tries to incorporate the superhero angle, but his linear narrative springs no surprises and as soon as he makes his hero go invisible, his entire plot is clearly visible and the heavy inspiration from Hollywood flicks.

Emraan can sleepwalk through such a role. He has done it in numerous flicks before — the good guy who is wronged and out to get his detractors, but here he becomes invisible too. Amyra, who was last seen in 'Issaq' (2013), needs brushing up while Arunoday goes through his paces. There’s also Tanmay Bhatt (of AIB fame) as Mr Invisible’s buddy Popo, but don’t go by the name — there is nothing funny here.

Bhatt’s recent outings have been in the genre of supernatural and 3D horror. This time, in his tech endeavour to create an invisible man, he appears to have overlooked the storyline. Wish he had paid attention to other details as well.

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